


Hagia of Járnviðr

by Perpecede_Celequex



Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe, Thor (Movies)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Alternate Universe - War, F/M, Love interest not to be introduced until much later, References to Norse Religion & Lore, Takes place during first movie
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-05-30
Updated: 2017-05-30
Packaged: 2018-11-06 17:35:19
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 12,118
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11040975
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Perpecede_Celequex/pseuds/Perpecede_Celequex
Summary: Loki in the movies was fueled by what he is, but what if he didn't find out what his origin was on Asgard? Would he have turned out differently if he had no choice but to accept who he was?





	1. Prisoner of War

Disclaimer: Most text is used by the original Thor script. By no means is anything related to the Marvel Universe or Norse Mythology my own. *Insert other "how I own nothing" text here*

**Chapter 1: Prisoner of War**

The group walked through the frozen wasteland of Jötunheim, looking at the breaking ice around them. They had been walking a long distance now, passing the time in mundane and quite unpleasant ways to most of them.

"Please don't make us sing again!" Sif cried out to Thor with minor annoyance seeping into her voice.

"If I have to listen to Volstagg's singing voice one more time, I'll fall on my own sword!" Fandral called out in agreeance.

"Well, now I'm on board," Sif commented looking at Thor, sharing a grin.

The party reached the edge of the city. Once lovely jade and ice structures melting and crumbling. A temple lied before them, across a central plaza. The space looked completely abandoned, no sign of life since ravaged by warfare long ago.

"Where are they?" Sif asked softly taking in the surroundings.

"Hiding. As cowards always do," Thor said, hatred seeping into his tone.

Thor lead the others onward towards the central plaza, Loki reluctantly following. They looked around at all of the destruction and even Thor felt a little sadness in his heart. The war so long ago ruined a once prospering civilization, a war that they could be starting again by being there. All the children, innocents, that must have lost their lives or parents in the war must have been awfully large. Each tried to remind themselves that the Jötuns were just monsters, but the land held an aura of pain and suffering. Loki hesitated even more than the others, plagued with the thought that perhaps the Jötuns were only painted monsters as a coping device for all the future generations. Thor only felt more assurance by his reminder, that they caused the destruction of their own people and even the loss of so much did not deter them from risking all they had left. Lost in their thoughts, none noticed the dark figures moving in the shadows of the structures nearby.

* * *

The party finally closed the gap between them and the plaza, no longer feeling the frigid emptiness but rather sensing Jötuns in the shadows and crevices all around them. They slowly reached for the hilts of their weapons as a Jötun sentry called to them.

"What is your business here, Æsir?" He asked with a voice like cracking ice.

Thor straightened and spoke harshly, "I speak only to your King. Not to his foot soldiers."

"Then speak," A Jötun called to the group from beside them.

Thor along with his group turned towards the source in a balcony of the temple, where Laufey sat, veiled in shadow. The Jötun King held a ancient nobility and power, hiding the doubt or suffering from the destruction around them, if he held any. Beside him was a young Jötun girl of about 700 (14) years old. She held a face of awe and curiosity, too young to fully understand what was going on.

"I am Laufey, King of this Realm."

"And I am-"

"We know who you are, Odinson," Laufey interrupted, "Why have you brought the stench of your blood into my world?"

"I demand answers," Thor commanded, hostility seeping into his tone.

Laufey stood, sizing up Thor, trying to piece this together, "You demand?"

"How did your people get into Asgard?" Thor asked not reacting to the king's intimidation and offense to his disrespect.

"The house of Odin is full of traitors," Laufey revealed in a gravelly voice

Sif and the Warriors Three exchanged a puzzled look, disturbed by the Jötun King's words. Loki looked up at the young Jötun beside the king, seeing her confused glance toward him turn into a smile as their eyes met. Loki then looked back at Thor and the king with a knowing glance. He knew what was going to happen if they weren't intervened.

"Do not dishonor my father's name with your lies," Thor bellowed pointing his finger at the Jötun king.

"Your father is a murderer and a thief," Laufey paused a bit stealing a quick glance at the emerald clad prince returning his attention to Thor, "He stole what was ours, and left our world in ruins. We have the right to reclaim the Casket."

"Not when you'd use it to make war against other Realms," Thor jabbed at him, resulting in a cold, mocking laugh leaving Laufey's lips

"And why have you come here? To make peace? You long for battle. You crave it. I see you for what you are, Thor Odinson. Nothing but a boy, trying to prove himself a man."

"This boy has grown tired of your mockery!" Thor cries, taking a step towards Laufey.

The other Jötuns step in front of Thor, blocking his path. They finally see them now, blue-skinned, standing eight feet tall, sending them death glares.

Loki moves next to his brother and quietly implores him, "Thor, stop and think. Look around you. We are outnumbered."

"Know your place, brother-" Thor snaps at him for interfering.

"You should listen to his counsel. You know not what your actions would unleash," Laufey stepped out of the shadows finally showing a twinge of pain and sorrow for a moment, "But I do. Go now, while I still allow it."

Thor simmered ready to reach his breaking point with the 'disrespectful' king.

"We will accept your most gracious offer," Loki quickly and respectfully stated before Thor started anything.

The others looked to Thor imploringly. Thor stared Laufey down a beat, then relented. He turned to leave, his comrades breathing a sigh of relief and following.

A Jötun then muttered under his breath, "Run back home, little princess."

Thor stopped in his tracks giving a smirk.

Loki went white muttering, "Damn."

In one quick move, Thor pulled Mjölnir, swung it, and knocked the Jötun clear across the plaza. The Æsir reluctantly drew their weapons, gathering into a circle around Thor.

Volstagg looked around at the angry Jötuns approaching them, "Silly hammer! Has a mind of its own!"

Ice formed on the Jötuns' bodies, creating a frozen armor around them, extending off the ends of their arms like swords.

One Jötun did so directly in front of Fandral, him remarking, "I'm hoping that's just decorative."

Thor leaves the circle of Æsir, swinging at another Jötun. His comrades formed another circle around him, separating him from the charging Jötuns as he whirls his hammer around once and catches another with a cocky grin.

"Next!" Thor yells arrogantly.

Fandral calls to Volstagg and Hogun, "Well? What move, do you think?"

"I say we use The Norn's Revenge," Volstagg recommends.

"At this close range? I think The Alfheim Lunge is a better move," Fandral disagrees.

Volstagg wrinkles his nose in disgust, "Maybe if they were three feet tall! No! How about The Randy Valkyrie?"

Hogun snapped at the bickering two, "Shut up!"

Thor took out yet another Jötun, then all hell broke loose as the Æsir and Jötuns began to battle.

A Jötun backed Hogun up against a wall of ice. As the Giant hurled an ice blade fist at him, the grim warrior swung his mace over his head, embedding it into the ice wall, and hoisted himself up, dodging the Giant's blow and leaping over him. He took out a second approaching Jötun, spinning back, dodging a swing from the first, then pounding the Jötun with his mace. Nearby, Sif expertly stabbed one Jötun after another with her double-bladed staff. One knocked her viciously to the ground.

Loki backed away from an approaching Jötun, finding himself at the edge of a deep crevasse. The Jötun saw he was vulnerable, swiping at him, but the Jötun's arm passed right through him. The Jötun stood there, confused, when the real Loki came out from behind a structure and stabbed the giant in the back, making it fall into the crevasse below. The false Loki dissipated into nothingness with a wave of Loki's hand.

"Pathetic," He muttered at the falling giant.

He turned back to the battle. Two Jötuns came at him from both sides. He let two daggers fly, felling both Giants at once.

Laufey nodded to one of his guards, a massive Jötun. The Brute leapt down from the balcony, icing himself up, then punched his giant fist into the ice beneath his feet. It was a long-range attack, causing pillars of ice to explode out in front of Hogun, sending the grim warrior flying back. Across the plaza, Thor easily dispatched some more Jötuns.

"Come on! At least make it a challenge for me!" He yelled triumphantly before seeing the Brute coming at him. The huge Jötun landed a tremendous blow, sending Thor back across the ice. Thor rose, grinning.

"Now that's more like it!" Thor exclaimed excitedly.

He threw Mjölnir with all his strength, knocking the Brute off his feet. Thor then rose his hand. Mjölnir slowed in mid-air, then flew back to his grasp.

"Ugly and stupid," he remarked.

Sif took out a couple Jötuns, but she was knocked to the ground by another. It rose its weapon above her. Hogun saw Sif in danger pulling a hidden knife from his sleeve and hurling it at Sif's attacker. It hit him square in the chest, and the Jötun fell dead.

"I'm so glad I taught him how to do that!" Sif remarked to herself looking over at Hogun.

Close by, Volstagg grappled with a Jötun, getting a couple good hits in.

"You may want to put some ice on that!"

The Jötun fought back, but Volstagg managed to grip him in a headlock just as another came up on him from behind. Volstagg fended him off, then turned the first one loose.

"You may be taller, but I'm wider!" Volstagg exclaimed launching his mighty belly at the Jötun and sending him flying.

Another Jötun grabbed Volstagg, squeezing him tightly and sending him crashing to the ground.

"It's not too late for you to surrender," Volstagg told it recovering and fighting on. The Jötun grabbed Volstagg's bare arm and the warrior's skin began to freeze from the Jötun's grasp. A blackness spread from it, necrotizing his flesh. The warrior shouted in pain. Volstagg then head-butted the Jötun, shattering the Jötun's ice helmet and dropping him to the ground. Winded, he took a seat upon one of the fallen Jötun's bodies to catch his breath. As the battle raged around him, he opened a secret compartment at the end of his weapon, taking out a small flask. Volstagg grimaced in pain, seeing his blackened skin then yelling to his comrades.

"Don't let them grab hold of you!"

He took a swig, enjoying the brief respite, then rejoined the battle. Volstagg stabbed his blade in a Jötun's chest, but the sword stopped mid ice layer. The Jötun delivered a bone-breaking blow to Volstagg's face, and the warrior dropped to one knee. Sif saw him in trouble and rushed to help. In one quick move, she leapt up and off of his back, using her boot to plunge the warrior's blade deep into the Jötun's chest, standing atop him as he fell backwards to the ground.

Volstagg was on his stomach on the icy floor, "Thank you, my lady. But I nearly had him!"

"Of course you did," She remarked as a nearby Jötun formed a barrage of icicles, hurling them at Sif. She rose her shield barely in time, as the icicles go pinging and ricocheting off it. She afterward raced into the group of Jötuns who attacked her and takes them out.

A Jötun touched a pool of standing water, freezing Hogun's feet to the ground. Volstagg noticed, hurrying over and dispatching Jötuns as he goes.

"Hang on!" Volstagg yelled swinging his weapon, wildly hacking at the ice around Hogun's legs to free him. Hogun looked down, suddenly worried, as Volstagg's blade cut deep and perilously close to hacking into Hogun's legs.

"Watch the legs!"

Volstagg looked at his damage and how reckless his was swinging, "Right. Sorry."

Volstagg then chipped away at the ice more carefully, finally freeing Hogun's feet.

Fandral swings his sword at the Jötun infront of him, barely scratching the giant's armor, "You really think your icicles are a match for Asgardian steel?"

He lunged at the Jötun overconfident, which the Jötun blocked knocking Fandral's blade away.

"Fair enough," Fandral moved on him again, but the Jötun grabbed Fandral's sword, snapping it in half, "Could we stop just a moment while I get another sword?"

Fandral continued to fight the Jötun with his broken sword. The Jötun then lunged at him, ducking just in time. The Jötun recovered his stance, then reached down and swiped at a pool of water, sending up a spray that freezes in mid-air, forming into an ice stalagmite. It impaled Fandral, rendering him helpless.

Loki raced toward the impaled Fandral, throwing daggers and felling Jötuns as he goes. He nearly reached the nearly-unconscious warrior, when other Jötuns approached. He fought them off, unable to reach Fandral.

Volstagg looked across the plaza and saw the impaled Fandral, "That's unfortunate"

He hurried to his wounded comrade, Fandral nearly delirious from blood loss, "I may need a bit of help. Not a good look, is it?"

"Just try not to bleed," Volstagg told him trying to find the best way to free his friend from the icy spears.

"How's the face?" Fandral gasped in pain.

"Flawless," Volstagg assured him beginning to pull the bleeding Fandral off the ice stalagmite.

Loki plunged two daggers into the chest of one of the Jötuns, which grabbed hold of Loki's gloved wrists. The chainmail broke away leaving Loki's skin exposed to the giant's frosty grip. He looked at his arm, prepared for the worst, but instead of the blackness of necrotizing flesh, his arm started to turn a blue similar to the Jötun's own skin. Loki started at the growing mark confused, the Jötun giving him an accusing look. He stabbed the distracted giant, moving on as he fell.

Thor continued fighting, his blood lust rising and taunting the Jötuns around him, "Come on!"

But when he hurled his hammer to take out a Jötun, a group swarmed Thor from all sides, keeping him separate from his weapon. Mjolnir fell to the ground, catching the attention of one of the Jötuns nearby. He walked over and tries to pick it up to no avail.

Now freed, the wounded Fandral looked relieved as Volstagg slung him over his shoulder, and the warriors started to leave.

From his balcony, Laufey looked upon the battlefield reaching decision. He touched a wall of the palace, an energy wave sweeping from his touch across to an icy shape of something in the ice. The Æsir hear a foreboding crack of ice as the ground below their feet started to rumble.

"That can't be good," Loki stated at the strange occurrences.

"Yes, it could! Might be an early spring!" Volstagg exclaimed hopefully.

They looked at the freeing figure, suddenly filling with dread when they see the Jötun beast being freed from the ice.

Loki turned to his brother, who was still battling the hordes of Jötuns, "Thor, we must go!"

Thor, still without his hammer, continued to fight blindly as a man consumed by blood lust. Loki saw the look on his brother's face, the savage thrill of the heat of battle.

"Then go!" Thor screamed at them, punching another Jötun with pure enjoyment.

Sif looked at the beast once again and yelled out, "There are too many of them!"

"I can stop them!"

The others hesitated until the Jötun beast freed itself with a roar, looking around for the attackers.

"Thor!" Sif screamed once again, but Thor ignored his comrades.

"Run!" Volstagg screamed, and they all started to run from the Jötun beast which started pursuit.

Reluctantly, the group ran toward the inner edge of the planet as the beast gained on them.

Thor started to fatigue, finally seeing the weight of the situation. He looked around the crowd for an opening, finding none. In desperation he calls his hammer, it rising and returning to his hand, taking out a few Jötuns with it. With a swift motion he charges it and hits it on the ice producing a thunderbolt from the sky that channeled through it, producing an electrical wave. It dropped the surrounding Jötuns but also started breaking the ice. The shockwave continued to travel until it passed his comrades.

Volstagg looked at the opening voids screaming, "What's Thor done?!"

"Likely killed us all!" Loki responded.

The beast hit one of the broken segments, falling underneath the ice bed. The group reached a dead end and looked back to find the beast was gone.

"Must have fallen under the ice," Sif said cautiously before they heard a noise behind them. The group turned around to see the beast coming out from the edge of the ice sheet. They were about to be stuck before a voice rang through the silence.

"Stop! Birger I command you to halt!"

The group turned to find the young Jötun girl that was beside the king earlier running towards them. She finally reached them but then passed them to go infront of the beast.

"Birger, these people are no longer a threat to us. Please stop!"

Then the beast opened its mouth ready to attack when Thor came through the sky tearing through his mouth out of his skull. The creature fell into the abyss lifeless.

Thor landed behind the girl, standing infront of his comrades, "Who are you?"

Before she could answer he saw her gaze veer to the side. He looked around, the rest following, revealing the entire Jötun army ready to charge. At the front was Laufey with an angry but hurt look on his face. The little Jötun girl scurried to his side, Laufey calling the order to charge. The horde ran in for the final battle when a deafening roar sounded and a hole opened up in the sky. A beam of golden light hit the ground next to the Æsir producing a shockwave. From inside the column there was a sound of a horse, and a nearly visible Allfather riding Sleipnir. As the beam vanished everyone saw him in all his glory. He was clad in his battle armor, gungnir in his hand held high. The giants took a small step back, leaving Laufey in the front with the young Jötun girl slightly behind him.

"Now! We'll finish them together!" Thor screamed once again hopeful they could defeat the giants.

"Silence!" The Allfather hissed to the shock of his eldest.

Laufey slammed his fists into the ground, the ice beneath his feet rising him toward Odin. The Æsir started to reach for their weapons, thinking it was an attack, but Laufey just stood face to-face with Odin, Æsir and Jötun alike looked on uneasily, unsure what was about to happen.

Laufey sized up Odin, noticing that as powerful as the Allfather still was, the years had taken their toll and he was not the foe he once was. The two rulers started to speak quietly, out of earshot of the others.

"Laufey, end this," Odin said trying to reason with the Jötun king.

"Your boy sought this out," Laufey's voice sounded like acid, the grave tone hinted with sadness.

"You're right. These are the actions of a boy," the Allfather argued," Treat them as such. You and I can stop this before there's further bloodshed."

Unseen by Odin and the others, Laufey started to form an ice blade at the end of his arm, "We are beyond diplomacy now, Allfather. He'll get what he came for: war and death."

Odin looked grim, "So be it."

Without warning, Laufey swung his ice blade at Odin, but Odin was quicker. The Allfather brought his spear down upon the ice. Laufey and the nearest Jötuns went falling backwards in a wave, the ice cracking beneath their feet. The other Jötuns ran, Thor watching them with an unsettling feeling in his stomach. Odin rose his spear, the hole in the sky opening and the Bifrost energy blasting forth from it. The Jötun girl reached the group as the Bifrost enveloped the Æsir, yanking Loki away from them as the rest lifted off the ground and up through the hole. The vortex closed behind them as all fell silent in the surrounding area.

Loki was now a prisoner of war.

**Author's Note: Hello reader! This is my first story, well not the _first_ one but rather the first I have posted. This is an alternate version of the movie as you can tell, but this is the only time that any movie text will be used, or rather original script text. Everything else will be mostly original and will use some of Norse mythology, but I won't promise any amount or accuracy as this is a story. I also must mention since most of this is from the script most pacing is not representative of my own writing but rather my incapability to alter scripts in a flowing manner. Apologies if it is disappointing for this to be the first and only chapter but this will be a bulk upload so it won't be that horrible. School will interfere with future updating; however, I will try my best to use any bit of free time I can. Also, the ending had to be established with the beginning, there is no other way to reveal that without the whole build-up. Thank you for reading! ~ Perpecede Celequex  
**


	2. The Deal

Disclaimer: By no means is anything related to the Marvel Universe or Norse Mythology my own.

**Chapter 2: The Deal**

Loki slowly opened his eyes as the light flooded his vision. He got up holding his head with the massive migraine hitting him. He felt as if he was torn into two, stretched by that Midgard device called the rack. His vision finally focused and he found he was in a blue, glossy room. He felt the floor and it was smooth and cold, like ice. He looked back to what happened before and then it hit him.

"I'm in their dungeons, " he realized sharply looking over at the transparent ice sheet that held him in. He struggled to stand, then walked to the sheet. He reached his hand out to try to punch a hole through it with seidr, but nothing happened. He tried heat and teleportation but all were futile.

"Your magic won't work here, these cells were enchanted by the late queen herself," a Jötun informed him stepping in front of the cell, "I'm Býleistr, prince and head of the army in Jötunheim."

"And what are you to do with me?" Loki asked dull faced.

"I am to make you work. Seidr is a lost art to us and it can be our saving grace. Your task will be to recreate the casket of ancient winters."

Loki gave a sour chuckle, "How do you expect me to recreate the collection of the most powerful, raw Jötun magic that ever existed?"

"You are a powerful wielder of seidr, and with a bit of effort you will master Jötun magic too. Think about how many years have you been just sitting there with nothing else to learn."

Loki thought about it for a moment and then gave a smirk, "When do I start?"

"Now," the Jötun told him waving his hand at the sheet of ice. It slid down into the ground and Loki stepped out, "but know that if you run we will find you."

Loki gave a nod and Býleistr started to lead him out of the dungeons and down the halls. Loki noticed that there were few servants in this part of the castle. He wondered if they were lacking all around the palace. Then he wondered where all the guards were.

"Vermin," Býleistr remarked spitting at the servants' feet then continuing in silence until they passed them, "They are from the Járnviđr. The wolves are barbaric and with that leader of theirs I'm not surprised."

"Who is their leader?"

"Angrbođa, the Hagia of Járnviđr. She helped us in the war until the end, where she just fell back. She called all the wolves she could back but the ones in our army were forced to stay. When we lost we kept them as collateral damage," he gave a dry laugh, "Sufficient to say she was angry."

"But why enslave her people? She will surely never help you again."

"She has no choice," he looked back at Loki, "We may be asking you to recreate the casket of ancient winters but it is for different reasons than what the casket is intended for. This one will solely boost our powers and maybe teleport us if we're lucky. The real casket is the life force of this realm, without it everything will wither and die, including the Ironwood."

"Does the Allfather know this?" Loki asked and the Jötun scoffed.

"Of course he does, he is the Allfather. He knows our weaknesses and strengths, what makes us live and die. Even so, we will beat him, he may know a lot but he doesn't know everything."

Býleistr stopped in front of a greatly decorated door, ushering Loki to open it. Loki turned the icy handle and opened the door. The icy carvings lit up with green flowing through lines along the walls, the room losing its furniture with a flash of green light. Then a blue magic went from his hand blending with the green going down in the carved pattern on the floor. With a shimmer of blue magic rose new icy furniture. Loki removed his hand from the handle and stepped inside in awe.

"The queen made this room for her first born who was taken from her in the war. It was not meant for a spoiled Æsir prince who would assist his enemy for the sake of new magic. It is a shame it is in the power of the likes of you," with that Býleistr stepped out and slammed the door.

With Býleistr gone he was able to observe the room better. The room had minimum furniture in it, however, it still was interesting. The first thing his eyes were drawn to were the bookshelves lining one of the walls. He was surprised to find his favorite tombs lined up on the shelves. He grazed his finger along the spines feeling the carved titles stopping at an old fairytale book from when he was younger.

He opened the book flipping to his favorite story, Prince Lindworm, running his finger across it. His mother would read it to him when he had a bad dream, which he would probably call a nightmare if it wasn't his life at the time. He would always dream of being an outcast, ridiculed for his seidr or his lack of physical ability. When his mother read the story he would hope that someone would strip away his imperfections and turn him into the favored son, but he soon gave up that dream when he grew to know better. When he was no more than 500 (10) he would spend some days hiding from Thor in the library trying to escape being around his friends who thought Loki no greater than a pest. As he grew older the task didn't change but rather the frequency. He would spend days on end in the place contented by the silence but unnerved by the thought that he would have to come out again sometime.

He placed down the book with a sad smile, he would have all the silence he wanted but he wouldn't be able to see Thor in a while. Even worse, he would not see his mother either. It was worth it in a sense, with new knowledge of the Jötun magic they could easily win the war without much bloodshed. Of course, there would be no war if Thor had just walked away, or that guard had not taken his sweet time. He wouldn't be a prisoner of war forced to make the weapon that could kill thousands of innocents, which he could not delay without him getting killed. Loki flopped on the bed which had no mattress, but rather a thousand snow flurries that seemed to not pack together or even melt. He wished he was home, which was a funny concept since he always wanted to escape Asgard, whether by Bifrost or book. Then a knock sounded at his door and he shot up from his laying position.

"Who is it?" Loki asked cautiously.

"Prince Loki, the King wishes you to come to dinner," presumably a servant told him.

He walked over to the door opening it to the person behind it. He was now looking at a Jötun female of about seven feet in ragged clothes standing before him. She had her head downturned in respect, but with her height it was difficult to do so.

"So King Laufey wants me to dine with him?" he asked skeptically and the servant nodded.

"I am to lead you to the dining hall now," she stated and Loki nodded following her down the halls.

It was an unpleasant silence, but what did he expect from a servant. Loki wondered if this servant girl was a wolf as he could practically smell the seidr coming off of her. She was powerful indeed and that got him wondering why the wolves stayed if they were this powerful.

His thoughts were interrupted as they reached two grand doors. The servant opened then to reveal King Laufey and Býleistr at a grand table filled completely with warriors. When Laufey looked up to meet Loki's gaze he stood up knocking his chair over, silencing the hall.

"What is the meaning of this?" The king growled and the servant lifted her head.

"Father, I wanted him here," the servant told the king melting away into the young girl that pulled Loki out of the Bifrost.

"Helblindi, he is a prisoner, not a guest," Laufey told her grabbing his chair from the floor and slamming it upright.

"So you are to let him starve? He has agreed to help us so why treat him any less than us?" she told the king as he sat with a huff.

"Take a seat son of Odin," Laufey told him in his gravelly voice, gesturing the chair next to him.

Helblindi smiled and practically skipped to her seat also next to the king, Loki taking a more formal stride to his.

"Father he cannot sit-" Býleistr began but was interrupted by the king's gesture to stop.

Once both Loki and Helblindi were seated the warriors started to chat once again. Loki sat in silence along with the royal family. He could tell Helblindi wanted to talk but she retained her silence.

"Helblindi-" Laufey began to speak to her but in no more than a low mumble too silent for anyone else to hear.

"But father-" she began before interrupted by the king.

"Not today Helblindi," he told her a bit harsher and she nodded.

With a flash of green light she transformed from the young Jötun girl into a young Jötun boy. Loki sensed no magic or illusion coming off his form which meant that Helblindi was a boy, not that Loki cared but he was curious as to why he preferred the girl form.

"Hey Loki, you're a seidr master right?" Helblindi asked Loki and he was shocked but then nodded, "What did you think of my transforming skill?"

"Quite good although you don't know how to mask your magic yet, any skilled user would be able to sense you were using an illusion," He told him and Helblindi nodded.

"Maybe you can teach me, and I can teach you Jötun magic!" he exclaimed excitedly and Loki gave a smile.

"I would love to," he told him as genuine as he could manage.

"Blin, he is going to be too busy to teach you magic. Besides, seidr is not warrior's pursuit, it is for healers and bored housewives," Býleistr told the boy and Helblindi gave him a glare.

"I just want to be like mother, powerful in body, mind, and seidr. Why would I want to be the brutish general?" he jabbed at his brother.

"What man would stoop to such an inferior position as a woman? You might as well become a wolf while you're at it!"

With that the brothers became quiet. Helblindi looked at him in shock and he looked back with a fierce glare.

Before any of the warriors could notice the tension the food came out. Loki looked at the platters in shock, they were wolf limbs, wolf heads adorning the center.

"We eat good tonight!" King Laufey yelled and the warriors cheered digging into the meal in front of them.

Loki looked at the food unsure, it could very well be some the Jötun wolves from Járnviđr.

Helblindi noticed that Loki was not eating and whispered, "What's wrong?"

"These aren't Jötun shapeshifters right?" he asked him and he shook his head.

"Don't worry Loki, these are ordinary wolves, they aren't even from Járnviđr."

"Not that they could be, we made a deal with Angrbođa before the war that we would not touch any wolves in her precious forest. Of course we still needed to eat so she allowed us to hunt the regular wolves that live outside her perimeters," Býleistr added stabbing into the meat some more.

"And you uphold the agreement even when you are in conflict with each other?"

"Having animosity towards each other is no reason for bloodshed. We are all Jötuns in the end, and we have loyalty to our kind. That comes before petty feuds." King Laufey informed him taking another bite from the wolf leg.

Loki nodded and took his first bite of the food

"How is it Loki?" Helblindi asked him and Loki nodded.

He smiled at Loki pleased with his answer, "Good, I know it isn't as good as the food on Asgard but still, glad you enjoy it."

"And how would you know? You haven't been to the place never mind eat the food that the royals do," Býleistr asked sourly making Helblindi lose his smile.

"Asgard has the access to all the nine realms, they can get all the best ingredients and make the most amazing meal ever, we are restricted to the tundra."

"We don't actually use many ingredients from other realms," Loki corrected, "We are very much closed up in means of trade. Asgard doesn't see the point if better things are produced in our realm."

"So you are stuck in the past?" Helblindi asked a bit surprised, "I thought Asgard would be readily taking new information and goods that the realms present and build on them, but you don't even look."

"We do advance, we improve our weapons, our cultural relations, society-"

"In comparison to what? What do you do, use your own models for reference, you have no civil wars and the last war was the Jötun-mannfall. Even Midgard can have more advanced weapons than you now. You would not even know!"

After that a large bell rang and the warriors stopped talking immediately. They all got up placing empty platter on top of empty platters, scraping their scraps on the one large empty platter that once held the wolf limbs and head. They started to leave the hall and so did Býleistr, who left with nothing more than a respectful bow to Loki.

"If you would excuse me, I have a war meeting to get to. Blindi, if you could lead Loki to the courtyard you can start the lessons," King Laufey said giving a nod to Loki and fluffing the little boy's hair.

As Laufey left the room Helblindi sighed and transformed back into a girl muttering, "I hate when he does that."

There was some silence until she got up and went over to Loki's chair. He looked at her curiously as she held out her hand.

"Come prince Loki, you are coming to learn some Jötun magic today."

 **Authors Note: Due to the bulk update I'll make this very brief but I would appreciate any comments any of you have, as long as they are reasonable. I also do not mind getting grammar and spelling comments seeing as those are my weak points. I'll take suggestions too, but no promise in actually implementing them. If you guys have any questions feel free to ask, I will answer, as long as I have no plans of writing the answer in a future chapter. Also a little fun fact:** **mannfall means slaughter in Old Norse according to the York College's English to Old Norse dictionary. ~ Perpecede Celequex  
**


	3. The Mistake

Disclaimer: Anything associated to Marvel or Nose mythology is not mine.

**Chapter 3: The Mistake**

Helblindi dragged Loki down the halls practically skipping with excitement. Loki wondered how old this child was to act the way she was, although it could be a form of regression he supposed. Then again did Jötuns work the same way the Æsir did? Ever since he was young he was told that the Jötuns were monsters, and now he wondered if that had any real basis. They seemed to be intelligent beings, well at least the royal family did, with Býleistr's manipulating skills and Helblindi's seidr. Even the warriors seemed more civilized here all unified in their routine. He wondered if Asgardian warriors could be that organized, then scoffed at the idea.

"So Loki, you will teach me seidr right? I want to know so badly and no one is nearly as skilled as you are."

"Your mother was, didn't she teach you anything?"

"Loki, mother died after I was born. She couldn't take it any longer. She had Býlei and I but she wanted something even more than us, her first born. After I was born she lost hope, she died not long after. It isn't in our culture to hate seidr, Býlei just makes it seem that way. In reality it is a common thing to have though most do not pursue it in favor of Jötun magic. He just hates it because mother had it."

"And you pursue it to be like her," Loki concluded.

"Sword fighting is quite boring compared to seidr, don't you agree?"

"Yes," Loki saw a staircase leading up to ice, "though I prefer daggers over swords."

"We are almost at the courtyard!" she yelled out practically dragging him up the stairs through an opening formed by receding ice.

Once in the open Loki finally saw the sunlight again, or as much sunlight as the snowy Jötunheim could offer. The air was crisp and the ice columns, though crumbling, still held some of their former beauty. He could see some of the palace left but it was mostly rubble, hardly a place for anyone to live in.

"That was the palace before the war, then the casket was lost and everything started to collapse, we moved underground for the meantime. "

She stared at the palace for a bit before turning back to him, "So where do we start?"

"What is the easiest technique?"

"That would have to be... forming ice," she said holding out her hand and making a perfect sphere of ice, "First you picture what you want to make, then you focus all of your energy, the cold feeling that circulates like magic, where you want ice to form. If you don't think of what you want to create it will form a stalagmite shape."

Loki nodded and held his hand out. With a small assembly of snow flurries a ice sculpture of a horse formed in his hand.

"How did you do that so easily? Are you sure you have never done Jötun magic?"

Loki nodded and then looked at his hand, "It was much simpler than seidr, you usually need to know words as well. This is just summoning a feeling."

She looked confused but just nodded anyway, then looking at the sculpture in his hand to admire it's details, "Why does it have eight legs?"

"It's Sleipnir, the Allfather's prized horse," Loki told her with a bit of venom in his tone.

"He must be a ball of fire, with that amount of legs. How does a horse get eight legs anyway?"

"By a stupid young man thinking it fun to imitate a mare," He mumbled so that Helblindi could not understand what he said.

"Hey Loki now that I taught you some Jötun magic, can you teach me how to mask my seidr?"

"Sure," with that Loki gave the most unnerving grin.

Asgard after the battle

"You cannot protect your friends. How can you hope to protect a kingdom?!" The Allfather tore Heimdall's sword out of the Bifrost and tossed it to the guardian, yelling at the warriors three, "Get him to the healing room, now!"

Thor watched as they left holding up Fandral, who was barely conscious due to blood loss, then said, "There won't be a kingdom to protect if you're afraid to act! Whatever the cost, the world must know that the new King of Asgard will not be held in contempt."

"That's pride and vanity that talks! Not leadership! Have you forgotten everything I've taught you? What of a warrior's patience, cunning?"

"While you wait and be patient, the Nine Realms laugh at us! The old ways are done. You'd stand giving speeches while Asgard falls!"

"You're a vain, greedy, cruel boy!" Odin snapped at him fiercely.

"And you are an old man and a fool!" The room grew silent, time seemingly freezing for the moment.

Odin looked at his son with a look that Thor had never seen before: disappointment.

"A fool, yes," he started with a soft, gravelly voice, "I was a fool to think you were ready."

"Majesty, I regret to interrupt," Heimdall spoke sternly, the king nodding to him in approval, "Prince Loki is still on Jötunheim."

Odin kept his stern look, not betraying the concern he felt at the boy being on his home world. While Odin worried about Loki finding out the truth Thor was frozen in shock. Then he walked over to the Bifrost gate.

"I'll get him back," Thor said calling out, "Heimdall!"

"He is a prisoner of war, there is nothing we can do," Odin told him and Thor stared down at the floor barely holding on to his Mjolnir, "Maybe this shall teach you the consequences of war."

With that Odin strode off, riding his Sleipnir back to the palace. Thor screamed in anger and punched the Bifrost wall, then storming out of the room. He mounted his horse, then looking over to Loki's with a clouded gaze. He grabbed the horse's reins and started riding, the black stallion following on the side.

"Thor, great to see you my friend," Fandral called out his normal cheerful self, until he saw the look on Thor's face.

"What's wrong?" Sif asked clearly concerned.

Thor sat down on one of the couches and whispered, "He's gone."

"Who?"

"Loki. He is still in Jötunheim."

The warriors stiffened in shock, Volstagg calling out, "Then we must simply get him back."

"Volstagg you dunce, he is a prisoner of war, a rescue plan would be death to us all," Sif looked over to Fandral to prove her point.

"If he truly is a prisoner of war then he is safe, they cannot kill him, it's against all the morals the nine realms embrace," Fandral added to reassure Thor but he looked even more in despair.

"Father wishes to make him my lesson, how can he be so heartless. Loki is an Æsir like the rest of us, yet he merely shrugs him to the side. How can he not care?"

"Maybe this will be a lesson for Loki as well," Sif proposed and the group looked at her scoldingly.

"Loki may have done some bad thinks in the past Sif, but none is deserving of being stranded in Jötunheim," Thor stormed out of the room, heading toward the courtyard.

_'Time to prepare for war'_

Jötunheim

"So, we are going to play a little game. It will help you find the feeling that masks your magic. You see, masking seidr isn't activated by words, it is one of the only enchantments that are driven by feeling only. That is why it is difficult."

Helblindi nodded eagerly.

"Ok, so for this game you are going to turn invisible," he told her and she instantly disappeared, "Now you dodge these."

With a wave of his hand three daggers appeared and he threw one at her side. Loki grinned and threw another at her running aura. Her breathing hitched as the next dagger hit the space next to her.

" Go on, run."

She started to run as fast as she could until two daggers almost hit her feet, "You are stepping too hard! You spent all your life in the snow and you still don't know how tred lightly?"

She lightened her footsteps as she said continued to run away. Loki smirked and threw more daggers at her feet. With one came a small tearing sound and a soft 'ouf'. He prepared his last dagger and slowly walked up to the heavily breathing space, then stopping.

He waved his hand and all the daggers disappeared then telling her, "What feeling did you feel, other than fear what other feeling. It should be something like a release of magic, maybe the opposite, but anything magic. That is what you need to focus on if you want to mask your magic."

After this he heard sobbing and he grew somewhat worried, "Helblindi, you don't need to be invisible any more. Helblindi?"

With that Loki heard running, running going through the snow and down the icy steps they went up to reach the courtyard.

Asgard 700 years ago

_Thor wanted to show Loki something, and Loki knew full well that it was something amazing. Well it was either amazing or stupid but Loki hoped for the latter. The boys ran down the corridors until Loki stopped at a particular archway._

_"_ _Thor, you know what that is don't you?"_

_He nodded smiling, "The forbidden corridor."_

_"_ _Are you insane? That hall holds some of the most dangerous creatures in the nine realms. Those magical barriers can barely hold some of them back and we are going in there to say hi to them?!"_

_At this point Loki was desperately trying to pull away but Thor was stronger as usual. Thor lost his childish grin and sighed._

_"_ _Loki, since when have you turned down a chance at mischief?"_

 _"_ _Turning wine into snakes and being among creatures that can break through the barrier and kill you is at two different scales!"_

 _"_ _Loki for once in your life abandon reason, you are 548 years old! Learn to live a little will you?" with some silence from Loki Thor released him and shook his head, "If you won't go with me then I will go alone."_

_Loki watched Thor enter the chamber and was torn what to do, enter and possibly be killed, leave and get mother and father, or just wait outside and enter if Thor was in danger. With a sigh Loki decided to do the last option, it was practically the first only that Loki wouldn't be blamed for Thor entering the chamber if they got caught, probably._

_After standing outside for a bit Loki heard a tapping on one of the magical barriers, then he heard a crackle and snap. Loki looked inside the chamber to see the vicious dog looming over Thor._

_"_ _Garmr," Loki whispered rushing into the room, "Garmr! Þú vegr mik! (Garmr! Fight me!)"_

_The giant dog ran towards him, teeth bare and saliva drizzling out from it's mouth. Loki ran to the side of the prisons running past the mutt. It sharply pivoted around and continued to chase behind him, Loki smirking as he had it just where he wanted it. With a flash of green light Loki disappeared from view and he started running towards Thor who had escaped the hall. Garmr still followed after him, and Loki looked back confused. The dog could sense his magic, and if he didn't mask it the thing would follow him throughout the palace. Loki made a sharp turn away from the exit and tried to ignore the exhaustion that loomed over him. His magic was draining him and the running was making him fatigued. The dog started to gain on him a soon got close enough to knock him to the ground. Garmr prepared to devour Loki, its mouth opening to reveal darkness as black as the Ginnungagap, but with a flash of panic and a feeling akin to the cold the beast suddenly stopped. Loki looked up curiously as the beast slowly walked away from him. It howled solemnly and went back to its cell._

_Loki got up quickly and ran out of the hall. As soon as he reached Thor he dropped his invisibility spell and started to weep. He grabbed onto Thor's arm and fell onto his knees, the wheezing echoing in the hall._

_Thor didn't know what to do or say, he placed his hand on Loki's head and whispered, "I'm sorry."_

Jötunheim presently

Loki turned invisible with a flash of green light and softly went down the stairs into the halls. There was barely anyone there which made Loki question himself as to why he was even invisible in the first place, but then one of the servants would walk by and he felt justified. All he needed to do now is find Helblindi, an easy task if you know the palace, but he didn't. He wandered a bit feeling as though he was going in circles and as much as he did not wish to interact with other Jötuns or have them know his business he found it unavoidable to seek help. When Loki sensed another servant turning the corner he made himself visible.

"Excuse me, would you mind showing me to my room, Helblindi was leading me but she got a bit carried away and ran off."

The servant nodded and started to silently lead Loki down the halls.

"So you are one of the wolves," the servant nodded, "Tell me, why didn't your leader get you back?"

The servant stiffened, "My Alpha does not have forces nor the supplies. I doubt she even has the health considering the Járnviđr right now. My people are probably starving, and the King will leave them to starve, so understand when I say that I do not expect my Alpha to rescue me and I am content with that."

"Jötuns are so different from the Æsir, we fight until the end to get our people back, when we are captured we are like a caged dragon, we are rarely ever so understanding of problems larger than ours is. We are basically loyally selfish."

"If you don't mind me saying your Highness, you seem quite the opposite, you remain here peacefully, you act as though you are a guest instead of a prisoner. I do not dare to presume your loyalty to your kind, but you seem calm and collected, quite different from what you described."

Loki scoffed and smirked at her, "I am the one exception, all other warriors act brashly and are quite unorganized slobs."

"Perhaps it is because of your seidr, not that all seidr wielders are calm but they do have a sense of patience."

After a small pause Loki remarked, "I never thought that I would have a conversation with a servant, nevermind a Jötun one."

"Nor I with an Æsir prince," she said stopping in front of a door, "We're here Prince Loki."

Loki nodded his gratitude and the servant bowed and walked off. He looked own the hall and stepped as quiet as he could, looking for the aura of magic that usually surrounded Helblindi. After a bit he finally reached a door, not led there by seidr but rather the sound behind it. He knocked on it and slowly entered to see Helblindi, who was crying in his normal form.

"Helblindi-"

"You are as bad as Býlei, he believes fear to be the only way to teach."

"I only did that way because it was the way I learned, I knew no other way."

"There must have been!"

"Maybe, but I learned nearly getting killed by Garmr, have you heard of it?" Helblindi shook his head and Loki scoffed, "Garmr is a giant bloodstained dog, once it kills you it devours everything you have to offer, not even your soul remains. No afterlife, you just end. A kid of around 550 (11) could you imagine? At least I was ensuring your safety!"

"But your family was safe from the beast, right? You were raised in Asgard, you are loyal, you would have made sure they were safe. If you betrayed me what is stopping you from killing everyone else I care about?"

Loki's look softened and he sat on the bed sighing, "Look, I'm not here to fight. I am trying to quite the opposite really. If my- the Allmother was here right now she would tell me to apologize, so here I am, apologizing."

"I forgive you, strange as it is, I do. I promised myself I would give you a chance Loki, and a chance I shall give you, but know that if you act like a bacraut (asshole) again I will never talk to you again."

"We wouldn't want that now would we? How would I get fair treatment without you?" Helblindi looked over at him and gave him a punch in the shoulder making Loki laugh, "We need to work on your strength."

Helblindi pouted a bit more and Loki gave out another laugh. He didn't know what it was but Loki started to feel at peace here, more than he ever did in Asgard. He could laugh, he almost never genuinely laughed, and as much as he tried to remind himself he was using Helblindi's lessons to betray them at in the end, Loki felt a kind of bond to the young Jötun, though he couldn't place why. When he looked at how short a time he was there and how close he was already getting to the people, almost as close he was to his family, he came to a conflict, _'Should I accept it or stop it?'_

**Author's Note: Hello people! Sorry this chapter is a bit slow, I did try to make it interesting and get across what I needed to but I really am unsure if this chapter is a good one or not. So I did say I would answer any questions and here, as I promised:**

**Ena: You aren't going to make Loki change genders too?**

**See Helblindi has a reason to change genders, Loki doesn't really but that's just for the moment. They are in the middle of a war, so if Loki shapeshifting into anything, not only a girl, benefits him, he will do it. So short answer, maybe, but only if he truly needs to.**

**Please feel free to comment, I am friendly. I have cookies ^.^ . But anyway, have a fantastic day/night  
**

_**~** _ **Perpecede** **Celequex**


	4. Chapter 4

Disclaimer: Anything to do with Marvel or Norse Mythology is not my own

**Chapter 4: The Library**

Asgard next day

"We are here today because Jötunheim has waged war against us. Their reasons are sound but we cannot disclose them. We are here to discuss the quickest way to defeat them and what resources we'll need."

"We should just go now, beat them while they are still weak!" one of the men called, joined by a group yelling 'yeah!', cheering him on.

"We have no idea what their strengths are, we have not set foot there in millennia!" another protested.

"He has a point, we know nothing of their strengths, they may have advanced," another agreed, "And what of their Jötun magic?"

"Loki can you-" the Allfather started looking over to Loki's empty seat. He hesitated a bit before turning to Thor, "Thor can you give us a report on the Jötun forces?"

Thor looked up at his father in surprise, then with a bit of sadness.

He then turned to the advisors and generals uncertainly, but called out in his normal booming voice, "The Jötuns are relatively weak. There were no long range weapons, only creating these kinds of spears at the top of their fists. They also have a giant beast, however, their first was killed and I do not know if they have another. It seems that their main weapon is size. Jötun magic must be weaker without their casket. I suggest that we hit them hard and fast while they are still weak."

"Ha! The prince agrees with me!" the first called out again when Odin silenced him with a stamp of gungnir.

"I have decided that attacking right away is unwise. Based on Thor's report we really know nothing of their resources and strengths. Even if we did, our troops haven't prepared for Jötun warfare in a millennia. Two weeks at the minimum, that is my decision."

"Your majesty, I may have a solution to our lack of knowledge of the Jötuns."

Jötunheim

"Loki! Come on, we have to get to the courtyard!" Helblindi screamed behind to Loki who tried to endure her energy.

"Why are you so excited? I would have thought last time would have dampened your enthusiasm."

"It's fascinating seeing what you can do with Jötun magic. Besides, as long as you don't try to kill me again I think we should be fine!"

Loki sighed at her bluntness, "So what are we learning today?"

"Depends, we can practice formation a bit more, like forming barriers or long range ice attacks. We can also go over weather manipulation, frost tornado tends to be my favorite though that's a bit intermediate. That's all I can think of now for the simple stuff right now."

Loki shrugged, "I guess we can go over the ice barrier, that would be more useful with my form of attacks."

Helblindi nodded and started to skip a bit with excitement as they reached the stairs. With the dispersal of the ice door they went outside into the frigid air.

"Ok, so ice barrier is easy, just focus on an area and form whatever structure you want," she said showing an example, forming an ice snowflake sculpture.

"Any I want huh?" he asked gaining that mischievous smirk again.

Before Helblindi could respond she was already on top of an ice pillar of about eighteen feet. She looked at him in shock and then determination as she tried to lower the column herself. Unfortunately, Loki was keeping it up with his magic as well. She tried to put in seidr but every attempt she made Loki just met in equal force. She gave up exhausted with an annoyed huff.

"Loki get me down from here right now!" she yelled and he started to laugh, "Loki Odinson I mean it!"

"You ruin all the fun," he said waving his hand at the column, it transforming into a ramp and Helblindi sliding down it rather quickly. Her scream of surprise soon became one of enjoyment. Loki changed the end of the ramp to a jump and she flew into the air, stopped by an aura of green.

Loki slowly floated her to the ground and as she stabilized remarked, "It isn't nice to scare people Loki, or send them sliding or flying to their dooms. You have to teach me how to levitate like that though!"

Loki gave a genuine grin at her enthusiasm but then let it drop as he realized what he was doing.

"Loki, what's wrong? Why do you look so conflicted at the moment?" she asked tilting her head as if that would tell her the answer.

He placed another smile on his face, feeling the comforting distance it placed between them.

"We should get back to the lesson, what else can a barrier do?"

"Loki, why are you forcing yourself to smile? Why are you pushing away?" She asked him and he was surprised for a moment, quickly hiding the fact.

"I am not 'pushing away', I am just trying to perform my task. I am to recreate the Casket, nothing more, nothing less. I need to learn the fundamentals of Jötun magic to even hope to make it, the main reason we have these lessons," he paused for a moment getting an idea and quickly adding, "On second thought, maybe we can continue this another day, I have something to do."

Before she could respond he was already headed down the stairs and through the corridors.

* * *

 

He walked down each hall, making turns here and there but ultimately not knowing where he was going. A library is an obvious place in a castle, you can tell from the doors and sometimes just the feel coming off of it. Even so, Loki worried that a race like this would not have written records or accounts. Asgard had to remain educated for the sake of guarding the nine realms, but the books were mainly untouched and mostly for show half of the time. He feared that the Jötuns kept oral history, which was the last thing he needed. He could not get close to Helblindi, he had already showed her enough for her to see through his façade. She knew his smile was fake, that he didn't know what to do. Becoming close could be worse than death in most cases. This was war, the last thing he needed was to feel sympathy for the other side, he would be a real traitor then.

Loki didn't know how long he had walked around, surely a good hour or so. He had walked past a few servants but didn't ask them for directions. There was a reason of course, why would he wander about lost otherwise? He didn't want Helblindi knowing where he was going. If she did then she would just come along and that was the last thing he needed right now. He couldn't read with an annoying, loud girl begging for attention. He said that, but he was annoyed that he didn't truly feel it.

He took another turn and saw large double doors to the side. As he got closer he saw intricate carvings of snowflakes and wind patterns. The snowflakes ran down the door ending up around large trees that looked like pine trees, wolves lining the bottom with fearsome snarls, all but one who's features were mostly blank with the exception of a trace of a smirk at the corner of its mouth, as if it was enjoying the mischief, like it was proud and confident in its stance, shoulders back and head held high. He looked up to find that the snow was coming from a cube, probably the casket, and below it in the background was what he assumed was the palace.

He was puzzled by the door as it seemed to depict a time long gone in the war, so it must have been from beforehand, but even so this wasn't the old palace. This place only became occupied after the war when the old castle collapsed, so it was an odd occurrence indeed. Curious as to what was on the other side he pushed one door open to peak through. Once open enough he noticed Býleistr at a table with a large map, another large parchment of similar size overlaying it, and a few small notebooks laid open around him. Loki saw that it was mostly empty, the librarian being the only other person, and decided that it was quiet and stocked enough to possibly suit his needs. He opened the door wide enough and walked through silently.

Býleistr looked up and saw Loki to which he gave a frown, "Hello Prince Loki, looking for my sister? She never comes here, even though I tell her she should if she wants to be like our mother so much."

Loki shook his head and smirked, "If I am honest I more-so looking for a quiet place to research the Casket, unless you would happen to know what it is made up of?"

"The Fimbulwinter of Ymir, that is what they say powers the Casket. As to what that is, well, I guess you have some reading to do don't you?"

Býleistr went back to his work and Loki walked over to the rows of books trying to see what they were organized by. They didn't seem to be by realm, Asgard was mixed with Jötunheim and Muspelheim. He considered it was ordered by topic but that wasn't true as battle strategies and medicine were right next to each other, then followed by some poems and then magic tomes. They weren't in alphabetical order either so that left one last one which he was hoping and dreading at the same time.

"Are all these books solely in century order?"

"Yes" was Býleistr's only response but it made Loki's heart sink all the same.

"Does the librarian know what century the Casket was made?"

"No, none of us know truly when the damn thing was made, now if you don't stop I shall have to kick you out," Býleistr said growing more annoyed.

Loki looked at him then the books incredulous, "So I have to search this entire library from the beginning of your history to a 1000 years ago just to find a few books that may or may not help me whatsoever?"

"I suggest you get started."

Loki was tempted to burn the map Býleistr was slaving over but that would be too cruel, and he didn't want to face the repercussions. He turned back around and skimmed the spines to find something that may assist him. Poems and plays were the majority, with only a few of science or magic. He didn't expect the Jötuns to be so refined in the beginning, they didn't care about war or anything like that, they valued education, so he wondered how did they ended up the way they were now. They hadn't lost all of it, they still were very organized, but he hadn't seen enough of their society to really know anything about it. He continued on to the next century.

Loki found most of the same thing for the next century as well, but more science and magic than the last. He pulled out a few that might tell him anything about the Casket before sitting at one of the tables next to Býleistr. He opened up one of the science books about magic vessel theory and began to read, but he didn't get that far before he heard crackling. He looked over to the source of the noise to find Býleistr seemingly calm doing his map with ice forming around him.

"Keep that up and the library will be giving out book-cicles. May I ask what sending you into an icy mood?" Loki asked and the ice stopped. The Jötun looked behind him to see the ice and sighed.

"The King wants an up to date map of the realm since it has mostly crumbled, but we have no precise measuring tools. Each one of these logs, the same area, different measures faðmar (distance of about 2 yards) apart. We need accuracy! How am I to make a map if everything is different amounts?" he asked in frustration putting his head in his hands.

"You could always use seidr." Loki told him and Býleistr went stiffly still, "You do know how to do that, right?"

"I must confess, Jötuns do not use seidr often, when they do it is very basic. We do not know that kind of magic you do…."

Loki placed a small grin on his face, "That's alright, I shall teach you"

After a bit of silence he added, "If you wish of course."

Býleistr sighed quite harshly, "I cannot believe I am even considering to be taught by the an Æsir prince but I am desperate. Go on Prince Loki, _teach me_ …"

Loki nodded before moving to sit next to him, "Now, this may sound a little cheesy but you must bear with me. This is something I can't show you, at least not with this place. I wasn't born and brought up here like you. See, you have a tie to the land that is very unique, if you call on it, it shall answer… I don't mean like you do when you are manipulating it…."

He paused for a moment and materialized a wide sash and holding it out to him.

Býleistr looked at it puzzled, and Loki supplied, "it's a blindfold."

His response was a mistrusting glare, "Why must I wear this?"

"You are by no means practiced or experienced in seidr, it would be easier to preform this task without an external distraction. Also having your sight cut off would be make this quicker as well," Býleistr hesitantly grabbed the blindfold and put it on, "Good"

"What now?"

"Reach out, feel a pulse."

He tried concentrating on it, his veins starting to show on his forehead, "I feel nothing..."

"It is not like trying to hear something far away. This is a sense you have never experienced before, imagining what it will be like will only misguide you!" Loki sighed before taking in a sharp breath, "Just relax, think of very little and only focus on what leaps at you."

"What was the purpose of reaching out if I am supposed to let it come to me?!" He responded frustrated.

"To increase your cover. You cannot find something the size of a grain moving randomly if you wait in only a small area. Now be calm."

The two waited in silence before Býleistr whispered, as if afraid to chase it away, "I believe I feel something..."

"Hold onto it, hand on the parchment," Loki cleared the new map of what little markings it had and then guided his hand onto it, "and speak the runes ᛚᛁᛏᛅ."

"ᛚᛁᛏᛅ...? "

Loki looked at the paper and saw the markings slowly appear, giving a small smile. Býleistr removed the blindfold rather quickly once it was complete, eager to see.

He stared at his creation with awe, "I did not imagine seidr would feel like that... as soon as I said those runes it felt as though something was pouring out of me, and then it just stopped. I suppose that is when it was complete."

He removed his hand and picked it up, seeing every new measure placed with the most precision.

"Congratulations," Loki said before getting up, "Now if you excuse me I must get back to my research."

He sat back in his original seat continuing the book he started before.

A few moments went by before Býleistr sighed, got up, and grabbed some of the books in Loki's pile, sitting down with them in his work area, "Truth is that you can't trace the creation of the casket to a specific date, from what we know it took centuries to create, with the evolution of technology"

He glanced at the covers and started to organize them in piles, "before we find out what is inside I think we should investigate the vessel which contains it, and we must read up on the years of theories to understand the technology. Once we have that I will ask my father for further information."

Loki looked up and gave a sly smile, "We have a lot to go through then don't we?"

**Author's Note: My writing will likely be a bit rusty since this was written quite some time after the other chapters, but once I get back into the swing of things it'll likely be better. To be honest, I have been debating whether or not the relationships between the characters have been developing too fast at this point but thinking too much about it led to a lack of motivation so I have decided to let my brain do what it wishes and to refine it when I finish eventually. I would very much like comments, any kind is welcome, criticisms the most since I'd like to improve.**

**Thank you for reading,**

**Perpecede Celequex**


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